


i want to live a hundred years (minus one day)

by meathermac



Category: Dimension 20 (Web Series), Fantasy High
Genre: (i mean technically u cant prove it didnt happen but like in all likeliness it didnt so), Angst with a Happy Ending, First Kiss, Idiots in Love, Implied/Referenced Sexual Content, Kissing, M/M, Mutual Pining, Not Canon Compliant, Season 2 Episode 3, Season 2 spoilers, and i am prepared to give them some, but they do think about it, but they're IMPORTANT namedrops, cursing, everyone else is namedrops, kind of, ok the character tags are misleading literally only fabian and riz have lines, speaking of the vanboat, the boys need hugs, then they remember they're in a van, there is no 69ing, wow when u type out all ur tags and then ao3 just yeets em
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:27:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22081822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meathermac/pseuds/meathermac
Summary: in the aftermath of the battle at hotel cavalier, fabian thinks about the past day or so. it goes very wrong and then goes very, very right.
Relationships: Kristen Applebees/Tracker (Mentioned), Riz Gukgak/Fabian Aramais Seacaster
Comments: 19
Kudos: 216





	i want to live a hundred years (minus one day)

**Author's Note:**

> hooooooooooooooooooooo boy ok well i haven't posted one of these in 24 hours so i think it's time i maintain my leadership position as most recent fic in this ship 
> 
> hyperfocus is a thing and it is dangerous. i haven't done anything besides watch d20 and think about d20 and also i think i forgot to take my meds this morning. huh
> 
> warnings: heavy cursing, kissing, making out, implied/referenced sex, mentions of past harm, mentions of bad things characters have done, if it happened in episodes 1, 2, or 3, i probably brought it up here so just keep that in mind, stay safe

_ if you live a hundred years  _

_ i want to live a hundred years minus one day  _

_ so that i never have to live a day without you _

**_winnie the pooh_ **

  
  


Fabian is starting to think the van was a bad idea. 

That was a lie. He had known the van was a bad idea since the start, which is why he’d brought his trusted Hangman, but he couldn’t very well sleep on the motorcycle so he was stuck sleeping in the van with the rest of the Bad Kids and the assorted hirelings with them. Maybe it was selfish, but god, what he wouldn’t give to sleep in his actual bed tonight. 

Fabian bites the inside of his lip and stares up at the ceiling, willing himself to sleep but terrified of the nightmares--even though they were protected by Tracker’s Moon Haven. Even if you held him at gunpoint, he’d never admit it, but fighting evil Riz had shaken him more than he’d care to let on. He hadn’t even seen Fig under the spell or Riz chained to the altar and he was still battling back visions of his friends turning on each other, of Fig with a knife in her hand as Riz begged for his life…

He isn’t sure when, but at some point during that internal monologue, he starts to cry--softly, thankfully, since everyone else is still asleep. Fabian curls in on himself, hugging his knees to his chest and trying to remind himself that it isn’t real. 

It was stupid, really, they’d been in situations where they’d been in danger before--hell, Kristen and Gorgug had died on their very first day at Aguefort, and they’d fought devils and dragons and Adaine’s crazy hot sister (emphasis on the crazy)--but there was something so rattling about fighting your own friends, even just someone who  _ looked _ like your friend. 

His body shaking from what had now evolved into nearly sobbing, Fabian rests his head on his knees and tries to take deep breaths--it was something Adaine had mentioned helped with her panic attacks, and he just wanted to stop crying before someone heard him. 

He breathes in and out sharply, trying to pull the world back into focus when he feels a hand on his shoulder and snaps up quickly, trying to dry his eyes as fast as possible. He nearly starts bawling when he sees that it’s Riz, looking at him with a kind of concern that Fabian doesn’t deserve--here’s a kid who’s gone through such horrific things in the past day, been kidnapped by some sort of horrific creature made of lies and nearly sacrificed by his own friend, and he’s looking at Fabian as if it’s  _ okay _ that he’s crying over something that didn’t even happen to him.

"You alright?" Riz asks quietly, and Fabian nods.

"I'm just… sweating out of my eyes," he lies, giving Riz what he hopes is a convincing smile. 

Riz raises an eyebrow, clearly doubtful, but elects instead to ignore it and just tilts his head at Fabian. “What’s on your mind? Just couldn’t sleep?”

He laughs wryly. “I’m amazed that anyone can tonight. I trust Tracker, I’m just…” Fabian trails off and looks at Riz, who’s still gazing at him with pity in his eyes. “I’m fine, the Ball. Nothing to worry about.” 

He fixes Fabian with a look that’s slowly morphing from concern to annoyance. “You know you can tell me anything, right?” Riz insists. 

Fabian shifts uncomfortably on the floor of the van. “I--I know, the Ball, I’m just not in the right headspace to be burdening someone with my feelings right now.”  _ Especially not you, _ he thinks, since what kind of asshole would he be to tell Riz that the horrifying thing he went through is also making Fabian upset? 

“Not to sound too much like Jawbone, since I don’t think I could do half as good a job as him,” Riz says, laughing weakly at his own joke, “but your problems aren’t a burden, Fabian. I want to hear, otherwise, I wouldn’t have asked you.” 

He has to admit that Riz makes a reasonable point, as much as he hates to concede. “I don’t want to make you feel bad after all that you just went through,” Fabian mumbles, hugging his knees even tighter. “It wouldn’t be fair of me.” 

Riz looks up at him and sighs sadly, his shoulders slumping. “I don’t think a lot of things about what’s going right now are fair. I won’t be upset with you,” he promises. 

Fabian bites his lip and says, “I’m just dwelling on what happened this morning. I know it’s nothing compared to what you went through, obviously, but as strange as it may be for me that we’re as… close as we are--” Riz reels a bit, clearly hurt by his words, and he backtracks quickly-- “No no no, I didn’t mean it--I just meant I’ve never really had a best friend before. I don’t know how friendships work, honestly.”

“You’re doing a good job,” Riz responds quietly. “And it’s okay that you’re upset about what happened this morning. I can only imagine from what I’ve heard, but Adaine said that you all found what you thought was my body… that sounds terrifying, Fabian. Really. You’re allowed to be upset the same as I am. We’re not competing over our trauma.” 

“Yeah.” He casts his eyes downward, messing with the cuff on his jeans. “Can I be honest? It’s gonna be so lame, but…” 

Strangely enough, Riz looks a little amused. “Go ahead.” 

“I was almost as scared when I called and you didn’t pick up as when I saw not-you in the apartment,” Fabian admits before burying his face in his hands. “It--it was so  _ stupid _ , but you always pick up and for a few moments there I really, really thought you were dead.” 

All of a sudden Riz throws his arms around Fabian and hugs him tight and he hugs back as best he can, burying his face in Riz’s shoulder and not crying. He would never. 

“I’m here now, though,” Riz murmurs, “I’m here and we’re not going to let my stupid fake partner do that again.” 

“I will gut them with my sword if that ever happens to you again,” Fabian says vehemently, though it’s muffled by Riz’s shirt. He laughs and hugs Fabian even tighter, both of them just reveling in the fact that they’re  _ here _ , they’re  _ alive _ , and for right now it’s okay. 

A few moments later, Fabian pulls himself away and asks, “Is it okay if I ask you something a bit personal?” Riz furrows his brow but nods, and so he presses on. “Why--why did you invent a fake partner for you to date? It’s--really, I know I talk a lot of shit but I don’t want you to feel--” 

He blushes, obvious enough that Fabian can take note of it even in the dim light of the van. “It wasn’t. That, I mean. I was…” he trails off, leaving Fabian’s mind scrambling to come up with the end of that sentence. 

“You were what?”

“I was jealous,” Riz says painfully, his voice barely audible even in the stark silence of the van. “Jealous that everyone--no, no, that’s a  _ lie, _ and I can’t be lying anymore--I was jealous of the fact that you were going on and on about Aelwyn and here I was, single and with a stupid crush on someone who doesn’t like me back.” He laughs bitterly. “It was so much easier when I could lie about it, Fabian, but here I am.” 

“How do you know they don’t like you back?’ he asks skeptically, and Riz gives him a wry smile. 

“I know. Trust me.” 

With that, Riz lets go of Fabian and moves to go back to his spot on the floor when Fabian whisper-shouts, “Wait! Can you--will you come back? Please?” 

He turns to look at him, confused, then sits back down next to Fabian. “Is there something else?” 

“Who is it?” he blurts out. “Who do you like? Please, no more secrets, the Ball, I don’t want there to be more hiding.” 

Riz shakes his head. “Jeez, Fabian, you really aren’t too bright, are you?” he says bitterly. 

“That’s rude, I wasn’t--” Fabian starts to say but then he’s cut off by Riz’s lips on his and it dawns on him way too late that he’s  _ kissing Riz _ and he  _ really likes it _ because Riz is already pulling away and looking far too sad. 

“Thought so.” He sighs. “See you in the morning, Fabian.” 

Fabian sputters. “What the  _ fuck _ , Riz, you cannot just do that! Not even the  _ consent  _ part of it, but the fact that you--you are making an assumption and I, for one, think it’s extremely unfair!” 

“You’re not trying to tell me you really like me, right? Cause I--” This time it’s Fabian’s turn to stop Riz in his tracks as he crashes their lips together again, his fingers going to the smaller boy’s hair and he can feel Riz’s arms around his waist and somehow this is the sanest and most insane thing he’s ever done. This is the most _ right _ thing he’s ever done, he thinks, and when they break apart, gasping for air, Fabian is grinning like a maniac. 

“Should teach you to make assumptions about me,” he mutters and Riz laughs, scooting closer to him--but not close enough, Fabian decides, and he pulls him into his lap and kisses him again, deeper this time. He moans into the kiss, enjoying it thoroughly while also trying to be conscious of the fact that it is around 3 am in a crowded van where everyone else is asleep and his hands really shouldn’t be getting any lower. 

Belatedly, he also remembers that Sandra Lynn is on the roof of the van, and that Adaine is awake somewhere nearby as well, and that him and Riz are not doing a particularly good job of being quiet. Somewhere in the back of his mind he also remembers a vague threat to Kristen about what would happen if her and Tracker had sex in the van, and decides that they ought to stop for tonight before he makes himself a hypocrite. 

When they pull apart, Riz lays his head down on Fabian’s chest and asks, “That does mean you like me back, right?” 

“Wh--yes, you absolute  _ moron _ , we’ve been making out for five minutes! In most worlds--” 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he mumbles into Fabian’s jacket. “Why did you go on about Aelwyn and just…” Riz trails off, sighing. “Sorry. It’s stupid.” 

Fabian just holds him tighter and replies, “How annoyed are you going to be if I tell you that I think I figured it out when you kissed me the first time?” 

He laughs. “Not even surprised.” 

“I got there eventually!” he protests, and Riz laughs even harder, trying to stifle it behind his hand. 

“It’s been more than a year and a half since I figured out I liked you. You’ve had plenty of time to catch up,” he points out. “You were always too good for me anyway. Still are, probably. You’re handsome and athletic, and popular, and… more stuff.” 

“My father did always tell me that my greatest quality was ‘more stuff’,” Fabian says dryly, and he takes pride in the fact that Riz laughs at that because Riz’s laugh is quickly becoming very high on the list of ‘Fabian’s Favorite Sounds’, behind the Hangman revving and the silence that comes from an absence of Gilear. “I’m not too good for you. End of argument. You’re different from me, you’re--you’re intelligent and witty and handsome too, and I’m no better than you at this so I don’t want to hear any more of it.” 

“But what if--” 

“Leave the speculation to Adaine, alright, Riz?” Fabian moves to kiss him again when he feels Riz pull back from him. “What’s wrong? Did I say something?’ 

He shakes his head, grinning. “No, no, it’s just--you called me Riz. You never call me Riz.” 

Fabian blinks a couple times and blushes. “I’ll have to remedy that, then.” He gives Riz one last soft kiss before leaning back against the wall, closing his eyes and finally thinking he might be able to get some sleep. “Goodnight, Riz.” 

“G’night, Fabian.” 

And when Adaine walks into the van a half-hour later and she sees Fabian and Riz asleep and cuddling in the corner, she just shakes her head and smiles to herself, cause she’s just glad they’ve figured something out. They deserve some peace. 

(The same cannot be said for Fig, who when she wakes up to see the two of them, shrieks and wakes near everybody else up with her.) 

But for now, Riz is curled up under Fabian’s arm, both boys finally asleep. The nightmares can wait. 

**Author's Note:**

> they got their kisses in what can i say 
> 
> follow me on tumblr (@mydicegotcursed) and feel free to hit me up on there!!! and leave a kudos or comment for me to desperately cling on to as i refresh the page every two minutes


End file.
